Jenny's Reviews

How does she do it? How does Anne Lamott capture the tension of mystery and truth in a way that makes you want to follow her anywhere and believe everything? If you opened this book to any random page you’d find something you’d feel compelled to read aloud to the stranger at the next table. Her familiar writing style spreads a blanket in the sun, lays out trinkets for you to consider, then gathers up the corners, ties it to a stick, sets it on your shoulder, and nudges you to walk on with hope. -Jenny

Give me all the fruits! Canning has been a tradition and a legacy in my family; the recipes, the rituals and the rules are all things I treasure. This new book is one I will gladly splatter with sugared fruits and scalding water. I have pages earmarked for the earliest strawberries all the way through till the end of summer. No peach will escape my plans for the Peach-Lime Salsa. The beautiful photography, the creative recipes (arranged by season), and the wealth of information are enough to forgive the publishers for not including tasting samples. - Jenny

Told in pieces of the past, present, and future, The History of Bees is is a beautifully written story about our relationships with each other and with the world we share. I will never again see a bee and have it not remind me of our responsibility to respect the balance of power in nature. Lunde’s novel has illuminated the path of the bees and in turn has given us a beacon of hope for our future. - Jenny

Reading this book was like listening to a beautiful, heartbreaking piece of music. Prepare yourself for a full sensory experience as Jesmyn Ward pulls you into the lives of 13-year-old JoJo and his family in rural Mississippi. The reality of their struggle is palpable. This is a story of contradictions; we hit when we mean to hug, the hurts in our past have a place in our healing, a daughter’s best moment in her life is when she is present for her mother’s death. Despite the profound sadness, the last pages leave you with a lyrical sense of hope. - Jenny

This is the book that keeps resurfacing in my mind and in my conversations. I can’t stop talking about it! My personal understanding of “belonging” and my cultural understanding of “belonging” have been given a new language and a new mission. I think this shift in thinking has unlimited potential and such hope for better conversations with friends and foes, alike. - Jenny

This book reads like an old black and white movie. Think Bogart and Bacall. It’s everything you want in a smart, summer, beach read; tragedy, intrigue, forbidden romance, and dramatic endings. Each chapter keeps you rooting for Grace, cheering her on as she discovers who she is, what she wants, and how strong she really is. - Jenny

If you’ve ever struggled with who you thought you were in contrast to who life shows you to be, you will appreciate the stories of these three women. Set against the harsh and resilient sub-Saharan African landscape, Adrienne Benson uses this appropriate backdrop to illustrate the resiliency and courage of these women as they wrestle with cultural expectations, motherhood desires and disappointments, and the way we can use relationships to speak truth back to ourselves. - Jenny

As a lover of Indian food, I am so excited about this new cookbook written by Top Chef alum Preeti Mistry. It’s like getting the secret codes to the mind-blowing flavors and dishes she serves at her Oakland restaurant. Mistry’s “no rules” approach to southern Indian cuisine is an adventure in food that I’m ready to take on. First up will be the Manchurian Cauliflower with masala! - Jenny

Told in pieces of the past, present, and future, The History of Bees is is a beautifully written story about our relationships with each other and with the world we share. I will never again see a bee and have it not remind me of our responsibility to respect the balance of power in nature. Lunde's novel has illuminated the path of the bees and in turn has given us a beacon of hope for our future. - Jenny

This is a story about the pursuit for belonging, the strength of women, and the ability of love to transcend culture, distance, and tragedy—and somehow the ancient tea trees of the Yunnan province become the secret keepers and the story tellers. Lisa See shows us a virtually unknown Chinese village and the more known American lifestyle and makes us acknowledge that our sameness overwhelms our differences, and that our most basic need as humans is to be known. - Jenny